Editor’s Note
Choose Your Adventure
I
HAVE A SET OF COCKTAIL NAPKINS THAT SAY,
“I’m outdoorsy in that I like drinking wine on patios” – which pretty much sums up my attitude toward adventure. I’m typically more of a loungearound-the-pool kind of traveler, but after a year of being cooped up, my definition of adventure has morphed: The notion of just getting back out there, anywhere, promises its own kind of adrenaline rush. As Covid vaccinations roll out, the option to travel is transforming into reality for more people – and the Virtuoso Life staff couldn’t be more excited. (It seems like every meeting starts with chatter about who has received vaccines and who’s still waiting.) In anticipation, we’ve put together some ideas and inspiration for your next big outing, from a roundup of tented camp stays (glamping, Virtuoso-style) to a photographic visit to Morocco, interviews with travel insiders on the importance of connecting with nature, and more. Even if you prefer your vacations with air conditioning, there’s something for everyone in this issue, including dining your way through the Florida Keys and a toast to French rosé (which admittedly goes down even easier alfresco – I guess there’s truth to those cocktail napkins).
With every issue we create, even our well-traveled team learns a thing or two about the world. Here are a few fun finds from this issue: • That reflection in the cover image isn’t a mirage – it’s from a temporary lake formed after a rainfall in Morocco’s Erg Chebbi dunes (“Desert of Plenty,” page 82). • The Florida Keys are linked by 42 bridges (“The Long Way West, page 34). • Hotel designer Bill Bensley has a great way to use those souvenir patches my kids always bring home but leave forgotten in a drawer (“My Travel Essentials,” page 56). • In Tellaro on Italy’s Gulf of Poets, legend has it an octopus once saved the town from pirates. Today, the town holds a festival every year where they eat … octopus (“The Secret Italian Riviera,” page 48). • Mexico’s Copper Canyon has more than four times the volume of the Grand Canyon (“In the Field,” page 70). • São Tomé and Príncipe isn’t on the continent you might think (“Pitched Perfect,” page 58).
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR & VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT esrnka@virtuoso.com
Last issue, I wrote about the possibility my son’s high-school senior class trip might be canceled due to Covid restrictions and concerns. I’m happy to report that it happened without a hitch. The protocols in place in Los Cabos, from the airport to our resort, car services, and tour operators, allayed our health safety concerns, and our resort’s on-site Covid testing center made it so easy to meet U.S. reentry requirements in place at the time. (Fortunately, no one in our group tested positive, but, like many other resorts, ours offered an inexpensive accommodations policy to reassure travelers worried about getting stuck.) I’m grateful to Virtuoso advisors Jaimie Sanders and Sarah Zamzow for organizing our trip: After a year of cancellations, it was a fun way to celebrate the end of one chapter – and kick off a new one with a passport stamp in place.
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V I RT U O S O L I F E
(SOLO PORTRAIT) KORENA BOLDING SINNETT
JUST BACK FROM CABO SAN LUCAS
